You may remember that I mentioned a new project a week or so ago in which I decided to expand one of my recent presentations from a talk to an actual walking tour. The subject is one that has been repeated a few times in my work, the inspirational story of Sergeant Richard Kirkland. “The Angel of Marye’s Heights” has made appearances in my devotional “The Southern Cross,” my presentation “Faith Under Fire,” and in an article on compassion and charity that I penned for the Spotsylvania Presbyterian Post. This project however will be an expansion of the story to include the reading of personal letters, as well as the rest of the soldier’s life up to and including his death. (Kirkland went on to fight at Chancellorsville and Gettysburg. On Sept. 20, 1863, during the Battle of Chickamauga, he was struck down charging up Snodgrass Hill.)

The focus of my tour, titled “Battlefield Blessings” will of course be the inspirational story of his selfless act of compassion amidst carnage at the stonewall itself. By taking the audience there and positioning them on the field near the site of the actual event, as well as in the shadow of the great monument that stands today in homage to the act, I hope to present the extraordinary courage and conviction that Kirkland possessed. Here’s my promo:

“On the morning of December 13th, 1862, Sergeant Richard Rowland Kirkland of the 2nd North Carolina Infantry looked out over the field at Fredericksburg and was appalled by what he saw. The day before, wave after wave of courageous Federal troops had charged into the deadly massed fire of the Army of Northern Virginia, which was entrenched on a sunken road, behind a stonewall. The results were dreadful, and had left a sea of bloody, blue-uniformed dead and wounded on the slope leading to Marye’s Heights. Hour after hour, the cries of the dying filled the air with a nauseating symphony of suffering. What happened next stopped the entire Civil War in its tracks, if only for a moment. Join SPC member and historian Michael Aubrecht for a private, Christian-based tour at the site of this mission of mercy. This special program includes a short walking tour of the wall and field, an “Angel of Marye’s Heights” presentation at the Kirkland Monument (including a reading of Sgt. Kirkland’s personal letters), and a special prayer service at the nearby National Cemetery. This 1-hour program will be both educational and inspirational as we hear how God’s presence can be found in the midst of war. For more details visit: (special website page created by me here)”

In addition, I will be doing some readings from Kirkland’s personal letters home and I hope to add some other props or visual aids including photographs of the man, and his grave (Kirkland's grave in the Quaker cemetery in Camden South Carolina pictured above – note the canteen incorporated into the tombstone). The purpose of this tour is not just to educate, but more importantly to enlighten. By sharing Kirkland’s stellar example of faith, forgiveness, and fellowship, we can all try to be more kind and compassionate towards our fellow man.

A Puritan historian recently stated in a discussion on the theology of forgiveness that “I see Kirkland's downhill leap over the stonewall as a veritable leap into the "valley of the shadow of death." I could not agree more. I’ll be putting this package together and doing a dry run in a month or so and then I’ll post the information here. I’d love to have an opportunity to share this story with you.

History is among our most cherished treasures. Learning it however means nothing if we can’t apply it to our lives today in some tangible, positive manner. That is the basis for everything I do. And that’s why stories like Kirkland's deserve to be told.

I'm creating a special webpage for this endeavor: Sneak Peek Here